Tefl in South Korea

JJayoo

Hiya guys just trying to find out some info for a friend of mine.

He is planning to fly over to Korea and hunt for a job once there. I understand that as an Irish citizen you don't actually need a visa and that you can enter the country for 90 days. She has told me that once he finds a job she will go over to Japan to sort out the visa. My question is as an Irish citizen can you freely travel from Korea to Japan and back again. Would you need a separate visa to travel into Japan?

Thank you for any help.

JJayoo

Hiya guys just trying to find out some info for a friend of mine.

He is planning to fly over to Korea and hunt for a job once there. I understand that as an Irish citizen you don't actually need a visa and that you can enter the country for 90 days. She has told me that once he finds a job she will go over to Japan to sort out the visa. My question is as an Irish citizen can you freely travel from Korea to Japan and back again. Would you need a separate visa to travel into Japan?

Thank you for any help.

R.D. aka MR.D

You don't need a special visa to travel to Japan to do what your friend is intending.

Make sure your friend brings all her documents with her that she needs for the working visa to save hassle once she gets there.

JJayoo

Thanks R.D

JJayoo

Seeking more information

What documents should a person make sure to pack in their suitcase in order to job hunt and complete a visa run. Would be a disaster if you arrived over there and found out you were missing something.

R.D. aka MR.D

JJayoo wrote: »

Seeking more information

What documents should a person make sure to pack in their suitcase in order to job hunt and complete a visa run. Would be a disaster if you arrived over there and found out you were missing something.

It's almost 2 years since i got my visa so i'm sure there are new/different requirements. I also got my visa in Ireland before going over there so again, i wouldn't be sure.

Definitely i would imagine you would need your police certificate and apostilled degree copy. getting those while in Korea wouldn't be impossible but it would be tons of hassle.

JJayoo

Thanks once again. When I was looking into applying from Ireland I was told by a recruiter that I would need to post over two sealed copies of my college transcripts. These are the main things I was wondering about, would a person have to bring these?

R.D. aka MR.D

JJayoo wrote: »

Thanks once again. When I was looking into applying from Ireland I was told by a recruiter that I would need to post over two sealed copies of my college transcripts. These are the main things I was wondering about, would a person have to bring these?

I had those. In fact i still have them! no one ever asked for them. I'm not sure if they are a requirement for private schools. I'm not even sure if they are a requirement for public schools anymore.
They are pretty easy to get though. I'm sure your college has a students records office and you can call them/email them. I got mine in the post in less than a week.

JJayoo

More questions

Best way to get Korean Won once on the ground? Bring Euros and exchange in the airport/bank? or use use ATM machine to take cash out?

R.D. aka MR.D

i used a mix of the both but you can use your visa debit card in the atms no problem. I would just take out a large amount and make that do me until i got paid because the fees especially with bank of ireland are huge.

ekevosu

The commission on taking money out was €2 when I checked my accounts from December. I'm with AIB. Certain ATM's had limits on the amount you could take out at once. Join a bank there and change Euro's with them. You can usually negotiate a good rate if you are with the bank.

JJayoo

I need to find the correct address to get documents Apostilled in Dublin. I know it has already been posted in this thread but after 5 mins of searching I have given up the address or a link to the website would be great. I'm pretty sure it's just off St Stephen's Green.

R.D. aka MR.D

JJayoo wrote: »

I need to find the correct address to get documents Apostilled in Dublin. I know it has already been posted in this thread but after 5 mins of searching I have given up the address or a link to the website would be great. I'm pretty sure it's just off St Stephen's Green.

https://www.dfa.ie/travel/our-services/authenticating-documents/

click on how to apply

EDIT: I found this by typing Department of Foreign Affairs Apostille into google. You couldn't find it!!??? :-P

JJayoo

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

https://www.dfa.ie/travel/our-services/authenticating-documents/

click on how to apply

EDIT: I found this by typing Department of Foreign Affairs Apostille into google. You couldn't find it!!??? :-P

I am very very lazy :pac:

AutumnLady

Hi all,

Does anyone know if there is an obsolete date with the sealed transcripts?

I applied (and went) to Korea 3 years ago. I got my transcripts but never actually had to produce them. However, I know that employers/recruiters still ask for them, so was wondering if I could use the same ones.

The seal on mine were stamped on Jan 24 2011.

Any ideas???:)

brianw1

Apologies if this question was already asked, I can't seem to find the answer in this thread. If I were to gather the necessary documents and apply to a recruiter, when would the job start? I'm about to come out of college with a 4 year degree in May, and I don't want to sit at home for 3 months if the job doesn't start until August Advice? Thanks

ekevosu

brianw1 wrote: »

Apologies if this question was already asked, I can't seem to find the answer in this thread. If I were to gather the necessary documents and apply to a recruiter, when would the job start? I'm about to come out of college with a 4 year degree in May, and I don't want to sit at home for 3 months if the job doesn't start until August Advice? Thanks

If you had the required documents then the job would start at the start date of the job you applied for same as any other job.

Once you accept the job offered, the documents are sent off and the visa is given to you etc.

EPIK and the like have certain intake periods like the start of the school year but there are always hagwon jobs and public school jobs that a teacher might have left early etc. that go year round. Its as simple as checking the ads of the job you applied to or the recruiter offered you. Why not gather the documents now and apply for a job in May / June etc.

AutumnLady

Hi all,

For the E2 visa, is it still a case of getting a police cert from your local Garda station?

According to this link sent to me by a recruiter http://eslstarter.com/how-to-get-a-criminal-record-check.php#ireland it says you have to apply centrally?

Any ideas?

Thanks

ekevosu

AutumnLady wrote: »

Hi all,

For the E2 visa, is it still a case of getting a police cert from your local Garda station?

According to this link sent to me by a recruiter http://eslstarter.com/how-to-get-a-criminal-record-check.php#ireland it says you have to apply centrally?

Any ideas?

Thanks

That link the recruiter gave you goes to a uk site not the guards. NEVER take everything the recruiters tell you as fact as they can often be wrong or less clued in than you are, going on old or false info etc. Always triple check everything.

A quick google gives you this which appears to say your local superintendent:

http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=2742&Lang=1

I don't see why it would have changed to apply centrally? Their website doesn't say so. Ring your local superintendent station to get a confirmation.

also its free I'm sure...but that recruiter site says they charge money so I reckon they are using the wrong info or a different cert than the one you actually need?

google is your friend:
http://www.goeastrecruiting.com/criminal-background-checks/36-ireland-criminal-background-check

JJayoo

What voltage does Korea use? and what kind of adapter would a person have to bring so they can charge up a laptop/phone?

xinchao

I live in South Korea,
The voltage is 220. But they use a 2-pin socket here. So you would need to get a travel adaptor on ebay or amazon or locally, if they are cheaper.
I brought my phone to south korea but it wasn't unlocked so it was useless. If you bring your phone make sure it is unlocked first so you can then change it to prepaid or contract.

R.D. aka MR.D

JJayoo wrote: »

What voltage does Korea use? and what kind of adapter would a person have to bring so they can charge up a laptop/phone?

One of those adapters for europe does fine with the 2 prongs.

JJayoo

thanks guys

brianw1

Anybody know how much it costs to apostille both a police cert and a degree with the DFA? I've been trying to get through to their phones the last few days, with no luck.

cloneslad

brianw1 wrote: »

Anybody know how much it costs to apostille both a police cert and a degree with the DFA? I've been trying to get through to their phones the last few days, with no luck.

I think it was €20 for each item stamped. That may have gone up slightly in the last couple of years.

xinchao

Yeah that's how much I paid in 2012. Maybe it could be more, but check the DFA website it will tell you!

brianw1

Thanks, I found on their site that it costs €40 to apostille a documenet, so €80 overall. It just seemed a lot higher from some of the posts I've seen here. If only they would answer their goddamn phone!!

xinchao

No government department answers the phone. The worst is when they do answer and then they put the phone down like the phone
ringing was annoying them.
€40 is scandalous. Before I think it was €20 per documents and no more than €50 for 3 or more documents, or something to that effect.
Seems another way of squeezing another fews drops out of the system.
Then again, after all this and if you get everything in order it will be worth it in the end.

Best of luck mate..

cloneslad

brianw1 wrote: »

Thanks, I found on their site that it costs €40 to apostille a documenet, so €80 overall. It just seemed a lot higher from some of the posts I've seen here. If only they would answer their goddamn phone!!

100% increase in costs? Ink must have gotten very expensive in the last few years.

brianw1

I know, it seems a bit crazy, looks like I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and cough it up! Sound for the replies lads